Have you ever felt like the world wasn’t what you were told? Have you ever felt that there was someone hiding behind a curtain and eventually they’d jump out and say, “Gotcha”?
I’ve been following a path that many of my generation have. I moved away from faith-based religions and into Eastern Philosophy and have considered myself Buddhist for at least ten years, maybe longer.
In the last few years that hasn’t been enough for me. My meditation practice had fallen off, or been non-existent.
A lot of this was because of a hectic life of a day-job, wife, kids, writing schedules and in not practicing my Mindfulness Meditation, I’ve become more angry and lost faith in who I am, was and where my life was headed.
I wanted something more than Mindfulness Meditation was offering.
My search began to narrow in the last six months.
I watched a speech by David Lynch about Transcendental Meditation, and from there I listened to his audio book of “Catching the Big Fish”, after that I listened to Transcendence by Norman E. Rosenthal on audio.
After listening to those as well as reading Science of Being and Art of Living: Transcendental Meditation I found myself in a place I hadn’t been in a long time; I was without direction.
On Monday I had my first TM session and though I was a bit apprehensive and thought that maybe, just maybe there would be a man with a small alien which he would attach to my spinal column, nothing close to that happened.
The truth is, I’ve never felt something as profound, spiritually like TM. The session was easy and transcending was easier that I thought it would be.
It was as though I were on an elevator and the cable snapped, but I could still control the descent.
The closest feeling I can compare it to is the sound of my kids the first time I heard their cries, it was that life altering.
This post is different from my usual writing posts, because honestly, after my first TM session I feel different.
Going forward I believe my sessions with TM will help me along my path, as well as lead me to new ones, but going forward my perspective is forever altered.
If you have any questions, please ask them below. If I can answer them, I will.
Brian B Baker, Writer 
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You didn’t mention your TM teacher. At what point did you decide to pay $$ to someone to learn a new practice?
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There are a few teachers in Las Vegas who teach. Michael Williams and his wife are the ones who do teach to others, there are couple others who work only with corporations.
Ten years ago I began getting migraines. They became worse over time, sometimes I would get three or four a week. They became progressively worse and I took a different concoction every year, since they would stop with working after a while.
The migraines caused me to miss work, which quickly changed the income my wife and I had. Eventually we had to file bankruptcy because of my migraines.
I reached a point recently where they were getting worse and again and $$ wasn’t a factor when I reached bottom. I had no other options besides more pills and missing more work.
Thank you for your comment and I hope you’ll give TM a chance. It has changed the way I live.
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Ah, thanks for responding. I was just curious about the phrase “On Monday I had my first TM session” as usually TM is taught on the weekends, so I was wondering if you had taken the formal 4-day class or were just on a different schedule.
40 years TMing, me. Started a week after David Lynch did (July 1973).
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You say that TM helped you but never explain at all what TM is. How is it different from other meditation, beyond the mantra? And can anyone try it — can you explain briefly how? Also I don’t understand why something like this would treat/cure depression. Did it show you the cause for your depression? Or did it unveil something else for you? Thanks for sharing!
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Hello Golden, TM is a form a meditation. It’s a mantra based meditation where you repeat a word or phrase which elicits a tone. The tone within the mantra itself is what makes TM different than other types of meditation. I’ve done mindfulness meditation for the last ten years, and it never gave me the peace which TM has given me. As far as anyone trying it, it’s a taught meditation by a trained TM teacher. When you meet your teacher and decide to learn TM, after a small ceremony, they will give you a mantra, there are many different mantras, but they are all tuned for certain individual types. Anyone can learn TM.
Regarding depression, at the time I began TM I was at the lowest point I’d been in my life. I was suicidal and TM was the last thing I decided to try. I’d read the book by Maharishi, and also the Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch. But it was David Lynch’s book which made me want to learn it more.
I bought the audio version, which was read by Lynch, and there was something about the way he discussed TM and how it had changed his life that I became curious. When I hit bottom, I knew of the TM center in Las Vegas and attended an introductory meeting, after the meeting I knew I’d learn. I was so impressed with research done about TM by neurologists that I had to learn it, even if nothing happened I had to try something or give up on life.
TM didn’t show me the cause of my depression, discovering the cause came months later when my mind had opened.
TM revealed the world as brighter than I believed, truer than I believed and more wonderful than my mind had led me to believe. Next to my wife and kids it’s the greatest thing I’ve done.
I hope that helps. If you’re more curious about TM there are teachers throughout the world and if I couldn’t answer your questions, I know the can.
Brian
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Reblogged this on Colleen Chatterton.
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I was initiated in 1966 by Jerry Jarvis in Berkeley California. I have been practicing ever since. I stopped for about 10 years due to life issues that come our way like rain or fire. I started again and can say that I’m sorry I ever stopped. There is no other method that relieves stress and promotes the heart like TM. I am 74 and people say I look 60. I feel and think better than ever. You are blessed if you start and never stop as it is the way to understanding the eternal peace that is within you. God bless.
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